Available from the iTunes Store or the Google Play Store — just search for Donlon Pharmacy or else just Donlon. The download is free.

There are some great features making it the easiest possible way to get refills or check your Rx history.

Refills: the most fun is to scan the barcode on your Rx bottle for a refill – it is fast and keyboard-liberated.

But the real power comes by signing up for a Web Account. When you have a web account, you can include family members (spouse, children, pets) and look back at each person’s full Rx history. See if there are refills available, review the instructions for each med, and even access the drug Monograph with more detail about the medication.

This app is easy to use and saves a ton of time & hassle. Here are links to the download:

Well, the 2012/2013 Flu vaccination season seems over, though the flu itself is still out there plaguing the public. We gave about 350 Flu Vaccines this flu season, which is a record for our pharmacy. We do have a few doses left, if you didn’t get yours yet. The Flu is still out there and new infections are reported daily, so there remains a certain level of risk as you walk around town.

You may have heard lots of stories about this year’s vaccine. Some of them are sort of partly true. Let me explain:

This year’s mix was considered a very good one: they managed to correctly predict which strains would be out there causing the flu and put together a vaccine that will help you build immunity to those strains and so give you good protection. Some good points to know:

It’s very hard to make predictions, especially when they’re about the future.

Because of the vaccine manufacturing process, they have to start making it many many months before the flu season starts, so they build a mix based on their best guess of what will be the problematic strains of influenza.

Even with a well designed vaccine, there is still a chance that you are one of the few people for whom vaccination does not prevent getting the flu, or for whom it reduces the severity of the flu but doesn’t stop it completely. The estimate is that this year’s mix was about 56% effective overall. Considering that flu is fatal to some people, that’s actually a great result. It will never be 100%.

A number of things can make that vaccine less effective for you, including age and certain disease states. It is thought that the current flu vaccine, good as it was, is only about 27% effective in preventing flu in seniors 65 & up. 9% for the most virulent H3N2 strain. That’s poor, but still better than no protection.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. (In reality, the flu shot is only 1/60th of an ounce. And there isn’t a great cure for flu at any weight above or below a pound.)

Besides vaccination, there are two other good ways to prevent the flu: wash your hands regularly and frequently clean shared surfaces with a disinfectant. The other: stay clear of people who have the flu — the best way to reduce your exposure is to reduce their level of infection: make them get a flu shot! The more of us get the flu shot, the less of the disease out there to spread around and so the safer we all are.

Did the flu shot “give you” the flu? Nope. Remember it takes around 2 weeks for that immunity to build up. So if you fell ill a few days after the shot, it’s likely you already had it cooking in your system or that your exposure happened after the shot but before the immunity had a chance to take effect. Lesson: Get your shot as early in the year as possible! We try to have it available in September.

Common Myth: “don’t get your shot too early or it could ‘wear off’ too soon.” Nope. Protection lasts almost a full year, so if you could get it as early as August, you’d still be in good shape for the entire flu season. This myth is sometimes circulated by older providers who have not kept up with current research and the current data on modern flu vaccines.

Most flu infections do NOT require a doctor’s visit. There is no good cure available, but there are some supportive measures you can take to make it tolerable while you wait for the illness to run its course. For more information about flu symptoms and what can help you with symptoms, [Click Here].

Summary: No flu vaccine has a 100% prevention rate. This year’s was a good batch and prevented a lot of flu cases, but not all. If we’d had a lousy batch this year, there could have been epidemic levels of infection and perhaps many more deaths. The flu is virulent and dangerous and to skip your flu shot is unwise.

GOOD NEWS: Our Online Refill Tool is new and improved!

Use the link on the Donlon’s website to get to the new refill page: The “PRESCRIPTION REFILLS” button with the paper & pencil just at the top of the gray bar at your right.

You can choose the Express Refill option, which allows you to order a refill without signing in or getting an account. This is quick and easy, but does require you to have the Rx number.

Or you can sign up for your own Account, which will give you a lot more access to your medication history, allowing you to see which medications are ready for refill and which are not. You won’t have to hunt down any old bottles or Rx numbers as all the details will display in your Account. Even better, you can manage your account to set up automatic reminder calls (or emails or texts) for when medications are due for refilling or are ready for pickup.

This system will automatically phone a reminder to you about 4 days after we fill your prescription, if you have not yet picked it up. The system will phone again on the 10th day, if you have not picked it up and if we have not returned it to stock. An Rx that has been waiting 7 days may be returned to stock.

AAAAANNNNNDDD . . . We also have a smartphone app that is the easiest way to do refills. Just look for RX2Go in your app store, download it and you’ll be able to do all the above things in the app. Nice.

Oh, and before you ask: No, there is no way to pay for anything through this website. It’s about simplifying communication and your ability to manage your medication profile.

IMPORTANT NOTE: While you can update your phone numbers and such on the account management page, it will only make changes on that web page and will only affect how the automatic notification calls go out. You cannot update any of the information in our secure pharmacy software from there: our pharmacy software is completely isolated from the web-based refill tool. If you need to change the phone or address we have on file in the pharmacy, you’ll need to call us or stop by to let us know directly.

ALSO: IF you are in the store (or call us) and give us your cell phone number for your profile, then the system will send you a text message about 15 minutes after we finish any prescription for you. Early warning without having to answer a call! Again: Nice.

The Donlon Pharmacy website will still allow you to email us at this address (medication@donlonpharmacy.com) and if you’re in a spot where it seems easier, you can still just email us your full name, which drug you want, and any instructions and we’ll refill it for you.

And of course you can also still send us text messages at 563-265-1774.

]]>994Dwolla! Plasticless & cashless.http://www.donlonpharmacy.com/coming-soon-dwolla/
Tue, 26 Jun 2012 21:55:34 +0000http://www.donlonpharmacy.com/?p=928Dwolla is a great Iowa based company that makes paying for things easier and safer than the old plastic credit card method. Using the Dwolla website or App on your smartphone you can pay a (Dwolla-enrolled) merchant or a friend. Easy, quickly, cheaply & securely.

Donlon Pharmacy has added this new payment option and we’d be glad if you would skate over to Dwolla.com and see what it’s about, then maybe consider signing up.

Prevent & Protect!

Get a Tdap booster at Donlon Healthmart and stop Whooping Cough before you pass it on to others!

That little girl in the photo is too young to have finished the vaccine series that will protect her from Pertussis (Whooping cough).

The man holding her hand may not know that his immunity has probably faded and he could easily carry the disease to her without having any symptoms that suggest whooping cough.

We now offer this important vaccine right here at the pharmacy! Boostrix (Tetanus, Diphtheria & acellular Pertussis vaccine) is approved for use in all patients above age 10. It is partly covered by your Medicare D pharmacy benefit.

This vaccine is recommended by the CDC for anyone who has or expects to come in contact with pertussis infected individuals and/or children vulnerable to such infection. A single booster like this is recommended for all adults, including those over age 65.

Remember that an adult may have whooping cough without having the classic “whooping” symptom which is most pronounced in babies. Adults may also be carrying the infection without even realizing they have anything at all. Vaccines are the safest and most effective way to prevent this illness and prevent its spread. Contact Matthew at the pharmacy if you have questions about it. Or stop by any day to get the vaccine: just ask your doctor to send us a prescription first!

]]>900Blue Zones!http://www.donlonpharmacy.com/blue-zones/
Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:35:53 +0000http://www.donlonpharmacy.com/?p=888Governor Branstad started a project to make Iowa the healthiest state in the union and it is an excellent idea. To start, there is a partnership to create several pilot communities in Iowa to showcase the Blue Zone strategy and demonstrate the benefits of health & happiness. Follow the links below to learn more:

I heard this episode recently, even though it is from a few years back. It’s really excellent: talks about insurance, drug company coupons, a sick hedgehog, a mistaken Obama and the ridiculous influence of medical coding. Not in that order.

Locally Owned & Operated.

Serving Decorah for 80 years.

So far.

Consumer Reports did a gigantic survey asking people to rate all the pharmacy options, from independents to big boxes to chains & mail order. The results showed an “eye-popping” lead held by Independent pharmacies like Donlon Healthmart! Here’s what the results showed about Independent Pharmacies, compared to all the rest:

Fewer Errors & fewer order mix-ups

Swifter Service = less waiting

Honored promises

Fewer delays or out-of-stock problems. And faster restocking when out of stocks happen.

Better Personal Service

Greater Pharmacist Accessibility

Best value, including lower cash prices than most chain stores.

Common Weakness of Independents? Websites. So I guess we’re ahead of the curve on this too!

If you’re interested to read more about this, [Click Here] to read the Consumer Reports article

Or [Click Here] for a summary and description of some Maine research on prices.